'Friends of Rosemary' file amicus brief seeking to keep DA in office after 45-day DWI sentence
Nearly 200 lawyers have signed a “Friends of Rosemary” petition seeking to keep a Texas district attorney in office after she completes a 45-day sentence for driving while intoxicated.
A spokeswoman for the group said during a Thursday press conference that Travis County DA Rosemary Lehmberg does not plan to run for office again in 2016 and will undergo alcohol treatment after her release from jail, reports YNN, a Time Warner Cable Enterprises affiliate.
The group filed an amicus brief (PDF) in response to a Wednesday petition by an Austin lawyer seeking to force Lehmberg from office.
Kerry V. O’Brien, who filed the removal petition, is an administrative law judge for the Texas Workforce Commission who formerly worked as an assistant state attorney general. His petition invokes a little-used state law that permits a DA to be removed from office due to intoxication “on or off duty caused by drinking an alcoholic beverage,” reports the American-Statesman.
The amicus brief points to Lehmberg’s “extraordinary 36-year career as a Travis County prosecutor” and says “she has developed and maintained one of the best district attorney’s offices in the United States.”
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Prosecutor plans to stay in office despite DWI conviction, 45-day sentence”
